The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
December 26, 2024

Judge Voids Arkansas Law Criminalizing Booksellers and Librarians Providing "Harmful" Books to Minors
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here in the United States, a federal judge struck down key portions of
an Arkansas state law that would have allowed prosecutors to bring
criminal charges against booksellers or librarians for providing minors
with access to so-called harmful materials. Offenders faced up to a year
in prison. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks ruled the law violated the
First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, writing, "The
law deputizes librarians and booksellers as the agents of censorship;
when motivated by the fear of jail time, it is likely they will shelve
only books fit for young children and segregate or discard the rest."
The ACLU of Arkansas celebrated the ruling, writing, "This was an
attempt to 'thought police,' and this victory over totalitarianism is a
testament to the courage of librarians, booksellers, and readers who
refused to bow to intimidation."


.